In the past few years I’ve started the year talking about hopes & dreams for the year ahead. Many of us start the New Year thinking about our goals for the year and many industries look to exploit these ambitions. You’ll see no shortage of ads at this time of year for diet programmes, gym memberships and offerings based around learning new skills like crafts & languages.
I’ve previously talked about how to structure goals to improve chances of success but some times it helps to have some clear examples so I thought I’d share some of my own goals with you so that you can see the structured approach in operation.
So, here are some of the things I’d like to work on in 2023:
- I’d like to get fitter.
- I’d like to get into better shape.
OK. So these are fairly common goals that maybe some of you will share. If you haven’t already come across the SMART acronym before for structuring goals then here’s a reminder:
Specific – Be very specific about the goal in mind.
Measure – Make it measurable. How will progress and achievement be measured?
Achievable – Make sure the goal is achievable.
Realistic – Is the goal realistic?
Timebound – Give a suitable timescale for achieving the goal.
Reflecting on my goals stated above, how well do they fit these criteria?
Ideas about getting into shape & getting fitter are all well & good but they’re not very specific. They don’t meet the criteria above and that can have consequences for our measure of success. So I’ll demonstrate how I can refine my goals to meet the criteria to improve my chances of succeeding:
Specific: “I want to get fitter” is not a very specific goal. In what ways do I want to get fitter & for what purpose? I’m a keen runner and I love that moment when I’m running, when I’m running hard & fast (for me) and I just feel like everything is in synch, hot blood is coursing through me & every breath I take feels like it reaches every part of me.
In the past I’ve noticed that this happens when I’m able to run a 10km or 10 mile route in a certain pace window. At the moment I’m about 3 minutes slower over 10km than when I’m at my best. So, for me, an indicator of when I feel at my fittest is when I can run 10km in that kind of time and feel great afterwards.
So that’s going to be my specific goal: My 10km time will improve by 3 minutes.
Measurable: How will I measure this? Well this criteria is fairly straight forward – I will time myself. But, to measure it fairly & accurately I need to measure it over a specific course, preferably with as few variables as possible, and over a course that is, on average at least, flat – So it’s not mainly uphill or mostly downhill but consistency is the key here. I will measure my progress over the same course and distance. Fortunately I’m a member of an athletics club with access to a 400m track & a cross country trail, both of which are for the exclusive use of club runners so the two main variables are me & the weather.
But when to measure? I know from personal experience that running to try to achieve a personal best every time is not a good strategy and what’s more, I often run pushing my son in his buggy so the chances of me achieving my best while doing that are very unlikely. So, I will set aside one run per month where I will attempt to achieve a milestone in working towards this goal; And I will add one reserve attempt into my schedule so if the weather is bad or I’m unwell, I at least get another shot at achieving progress.
Milestones are particularly important when it comes to measuring progress because, if you’ve got a goal like mine where you are trying to achieve a big improvement, it’s less likely that you will achieve that in one great leap. So, I will break the goal down into milestones which will also be measurable and will break down my goal into manageable chunks. So, I will set myself the challenge of improving my 10km time by 1 minute per month for 3 months.
Achievable: This criteria is about assessing the likelihood of success. Ask the question: Is my goal genuinely achievable? For me the answer is Yes because I have achieved this goal before and in fact, done even better. But if the answer was No then it might be time to rethink the overall goal. For example, if I had set myself the goal of becoming an astronaut within the next 2 weeks with no resources to get to space, no flight experience, no contacts in the space industry and no specific skills or knowledge, you might well say that that goal is unachievable.
Realistic: This is not just about the achievability of the goal but also takes account of the other factors in a SMART goal. So, for example, my goal might be achievable but is it achievable in the timescale I’m going to set myself or are there things on my horizon that I’ve overlooked that could get in the way of succeeding. For example, is improving my 10km time by 1 minute per month for 3 months a realistic possibility for me? Well, I can only answer this by saying Yes, I think so. Again, I’ve run that quickly before and, although there is the potential for things to pop up & hamper my progress – such as illness, for example – I am confident that I can meet those challenges.
This is where we introduce some planning for the How. How will I attempt to achieve my goal? If I was planning to achieve my goal by simply running once a month and hoping for big improvements, the probability of achieving my goal goes down and along with it, the realistic potential. So, I have drafted a plan that includes running 4 days a week over 4 different distances, all between 10km & 10 miles, and includes fast runs as well as slower pace runs. I will also cycle once a week for an hour on another day and add either a cycle or run for 30 minutes on another day, leaving me with one full day of rest. I will also add to my plan 6x 30 minutes of strength training every week to strengthen my core. I’ve adopted this programme before to great effect which gives me some confidence in it’s efficacy.
All this makes my plan Realistic and improves my chances of success.
Timebound: Finally, our plans should not be open ended or we may never get started. For me, I have set myself the timescale of achieving my goal by Easter which gives me a little over 3 full months.
At this stage it pays to think about 2 more things:
- What if I fail?
- What if I succeed?
Failure: Sometimes things go wrong and get in the way of us achieving our goals. We can’t plan for every eventuality, just the most likely issues that might get in the way. But we can develop plans for handling failure. For example, If I don’t manage to knock 3 minutes off my 10km time by Easter, what then? Well, I will of course be disappointed but that disappointment can be used to motivate a fresh attempt. A good next step would be to have a genuinely honest review of my attempt and identify what went well & what didn’t and look at what can be learned from the experience. My learning can then be used to develop & inform a new goal – any goal, and not simply the one we originally intended to achieve.
Success: What will we do if we achieve our goal? This might sound like a silly question but it’s worth taking some time to consider. Will we simply pat ourselves on the back & return to our old ways. Will we be satisfied with our achievements and look to sustain our new state, or will we look to push on and achieve even more?
In addition, it can help to motivate us towards achieving our goals in the first place by identifying a reward for ourselves for success. So, feel free to set some rewards for achieving milestones as well as goals.
If you’d like help with achieving your goals fee free to get in touch.
At BroadMinds Therapy we offer a free consultation during which you’ll get the opportunity to describe what’s on your mind & we’ll be happy to help you, either directly, or help identify the best options for you.
If you’d like to discuss Counselling & Psychotherapy for yourself or someone you know, contact BroadMinds Therapy and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have and discuss options for you. Call 0899420568, email: help@broadmindstherapy.org , contact us via our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jpbroad/ or message us via this website.
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As always, thanks for taking the time to read this article.
Integrative Counselling And Psychotherapy 